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Panda Panic #1
Panda Panic
It’s time for Ping the panda cub to meet his public in this hilarious Awesome Animals adventure by award-winning author, Jamie Rix.
Ping the panda lives with his mum and twin sister An on the Wolong Nature reserve in China. Although his name means ‘peaceful‘ in Chinese, he’s anything but! Ping craves adventure and excitement but unfortunately he is a panda… and pandas do pretty much nothing except eat bamboo for around 14 hours a day and poo up to 40 times a day.
So when Ping overhears one of the reserve rangers talking about plans to send a panda to London Zoo as part of an exchange programme, he knows this is his big chance! But how can he make sure he gets selected for the programme? What if they choose Gao – the super cute panda with the big fat cheeks who lives in another corner of the reserve? Will Ping be able to swap his boring life on the reserve for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure on the other side of the world, or is he destined to a life of eating, and pooing, bamboo?
Nothing’s black and white in this laugh-out -loud Awesome Animal adventure!
Ping the panda lives with his mum and twin sister An on the Wolong Nature reserve in China. Although his name means ‘peaceful‘ in Chinese, he’s anything but! Ping craves adventure and excitement but unfortunately he is a panda… and pandas do pretty much nothing except eat bamboo for around 14 hours a day and poo up to 40 times a day.
So when Ping overhears one of the reserve rangers talking about plans to send a panda to London Zoo as part of an exchange programme, he knows this is his big chance! But how can he make sure he gets selected for the programme? What if they choose Gao – the super cute panda with the big fat cheeks who lives in another corner of the reserve? Will Ping be able to swap his boring life on the reserve for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure on the other side of the world, or is he destined to a life of eating, and pooing, bamboo?
Nothing’s black and white in this laugh-out -loud Awesome Animal adventure!
Audible Audio
First published July 5, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 10, 2024
4 ⭐️
Basic plot: Ping the panda is on the hunt for adventure. But will the shadows, bandits, and lurking snow leopards prove to be too much adventure even for Ping? Ping wants to have wild adventures so when he hears that one lucky panda will get a chance to travel the world he can hardly contain his excitement. But how can he make sure it him that gets chosen? Will Ping be able to swap his boring life on the reserve for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure on the other side of the world, or is he destined to a life of eating, and pooping, bamboo?
- An easy to read novel - Laugh out loud funny with quite simple vocabulary. - Witty, exciting and action packed. - Promotes self-belief and confidence. - The character Ping could be very influential to children because even though he faces obstacles, he continues to try and find something he is good at. Builds resilience into the readers. -Teaches children should not be afraid to fail and they should be encouraged to try anything. - Includes black and white comical cartoon style illustrations. - Teaches the importance of being truthful about yourself and appreciating who you are. -Teaches that children should not fear the differences between themselves and others and not worry people may not like them due to their unique differences. - Teaches that children should not feel restricted from doing something, although Ping initially believes "A panda was a panda and he shouldn't try to be something else" his thought processes change. - Teaches about how dreams sometimes reflect our desires. Also, highlights how some of us talk and walk in our sleep. - Teaches about stereotyping. - Teaches about different cultures and how they take part in a rain dance in the hope that it will rain to water their crops.
Questions/activities for the children
- Grab a dictionary and define these words along with any words you found in the book that you were unsure of: poachers,bamboo, indignantly,contemplating -At the beginning of the story An and her mother Mao Mao watch clouds all day. Can you draw clouds with interesting shapes such as a cloud panda or a cloud monkey? - What is a park ranger? What are their responsibilities? - What do you think Ping's mother meant when she said "Do not fear going forward slowly. Fear only standing still?" - Find at least one simile, e.g "his heart pounding like the rat-tat-tat of a Chinese woodpecker. - What talent would you show off to get picked to go to London zoo? - Which of Ping's mother's sayings did you like the best? Why? - What are Ping's hobbies? Name at least three. - Choose one of the animals within the book. Mao Mao, Ping, An, Hui, Gao. Look up the vocabulary that describes your chosen animal and paint a picture of them. - What does stereotyping mean? - Name things stereotypically associated with England and Australia and Scotland. - What do you think Ping's mother meant when she said " Be not jealous of another man's talent, lest that jealousy devours your own talent instead. - Translate the word Ping from Chinese into English. (Peaceful) Does Ping live up to his name? Why? - Why do you think Ping and the other pandas lied about their talents?
Basic plot: Ping the panda is on the hunt for adventure. But will the shadows, bandits, and lurking snow leopards prove to be too much adventure even for Ping? Ping wants to have wild adventures so when he hears that one lucky panda will get a chance to travel the world he can hardly contain his excitement. But how can he make sure it him that gets chosen? Will Ping be able to swap his boring life on the reserve for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure on the other side of the world, or is he destined to a life of eating, and pooping, bamboo?
- An easy to read novel - Laugh out loud funny with quite simple vocabulary. - Witty, exciting and action packed. - Promotes self-belief and confidence. - The character Ping could be very influential to children because even though he faces obstacles, he continues to try and find something he is good at. Builds resilience into the readers. -Teaches children should not be afraid to fail and they should be encouraged to try anything. - Includes black and white comical cartoon style illustrations. - Teaches the importance of being truthful about yourself and appreciating who you are. -Teaches that children should not fear the differences between themselves and others and not worry people may not like them due to their unique differences. - Teaches that children should not feel restricted from doing something, although Ping initially believes "A panda was a panda and he shouldn't try to be something else" his thought processes change. - Teaches about how dreams sometimes reflect our desires. Also, highlights how some of us talk and walk in our sleep. - Teaches about stereotyping. - Teaches about different cultures and how they take part in a rain dance in the hope that it will rain to water their crops.
Questions/activities for the children
- Grab a dictionary and define these words along with any words you found in the book that you were unsure of: poachers,bamboo, indignantly,contemplating -At the beginning of the story An and her mother Mao Mao watch clouds all day. Can you draw clouds with interesting shapes such as a cloud panda or a cloud monkey? - What is a park ranger? What are their responsibilities? - What do you think Ping's mother meant when she said "Do not fear going forward slowly. Fear only standing still?" - Find at least one simile, e.g "his heart pounding like the rat-tat-tat of a Chinese woodpecker. - What talent would you show off to get picked to go to London zoo? - Which of Ping's mother's sayings did you like the best? Why? - What are Ping's hobbies? Name at least three. - Choose one of the animals within the book. Mao Mao, Ping, An, Hui, Gao. Look up the vocabulary that describes your chosen animal and paint a picture of them. - What does stereotyping mean? - Name things stereotypically associated with England and Australia and Scotland. - What do you think Ping's mother meant when she said " Be not jealous of another man's talent, lest that jealousy devours your own talent instead. - Translate the word Ping from Chinese into English. (Peaceful) Does Ping live up to his name? Why? - Why do you think Ping and the other pandas lied about their talents?
February 11, 2020
I listened to the audio book with my 5yo and 8yo and we enjoyed it. I can't say it was extremely funny... more like 'rather amusing at times with a general feeling of pleasantness'. It wasn't the most amazingly gripping book we've read, but it was entertaining enough.
Ping is a panda who dreams of a life of excitement and adventure, the complete opposite of the life he has with his Mum and twin sister. All he currently does is eat bamboo, sleep, and poo 47 times at day (my kids giggled every time this was mentioned, and it was mentioned A LOT). He hears about a panda exchange programme and decides to write to the different pandas in each country to find out more about where they live, in case he's sent there.
From the start Ping's dreams and vivid imagination (good things!) turn into lies (bad things) and get him into trouble. I was concerned about where this was going (I don't want my kids thinking it's ok to lie!) and was impressed by how strongly this lying was dealt with. The book upholds the values of honesty and being yourself rather than lying to impress others.
Ping is a panda who dreams of a life of excitement and adventure, the complete opposite of the life he has with his Mum and twin sister. All he currently does is eat bamboo, sleep, and poo 47 times at day (my kids giggled every time this was mentioned, and it was mentioned A LOT). He hears about a panda exchange programme and decides to write to the different pandas in each country to find out more about where they live, in case he's sent there.
From the start Ping's dreams and vivid imagination (good things!) turn into lies (bad things) and get him into trouble. I was concerned about where this was going (I don't want my kids thinking it's ok to lie!) and was impressed by how strongly this lying was dealt with. The book upholds the values of honesty and being yourself rather than lying to impress others.
October 31, 2020
I always knew pandas did more than eat bamboo and poo forty-seven times a day, and brave little Ping’s active imagination takes him on wild and often funny adventures. If ever there was a panda worthy of being chosen to go on an international panda exchange program, surely it must be Ping the surfing/skiing/kickboxing panda?!
May 9, 2020
This was just enough wackiness that the 9 year old really enjoyed it. Mama Bears "wise" knowledge drops were entertaining too. One question that came out of the book- do pandas really poo 47 times a day??? Lost count of how many times the "47 poos" was mentioned.
July 29, 2022
Im in love with pandas
September 6, 2022
Quite amusing and a nice story. Ping was a very likeable main character. Some gender stereotypes though, saying Ping doesn't know how to do certain things because he's a boy (even if said in jest). I didn't feel that was needed or inspiring when reading this aloud to a young child.
March 16, 2013
A panda cub dreams of adventure and travelling around the world.
An interesting story told in a simple and engaging manner. Some of the sayings from the mother panda are good.
Young children will probably enjoy this book.
An interesting story told in a simple and engaging manner. Some of the sayings from the mother panda are good.
Young children will probably enjoy this book.
September 14, 2012
Importance of being true to oneself, appreciating who we are and not fearing that people won't like us...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews